To increase inventory turnover and maximize efficient use of shelf space, retailers increasingly use gravity flow shelving systems or gravity-fed display systems, wherein inclined wire shelves are used to stock merchandise. Examples of such systems are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,992,651 and 6,332,547, both of which are owned by B-O-F Corporation of Aurora, Ill., the assignee of the present disclosure. As explained therein, in such systems consumers are presented with an array of merchandise arranged in parallel tracks on each shelf, generally with only the front-most unit of merchandise in each individual track being easily accessible. Upon removing this front-most unit of merchandise, the remaining units of like-merchandise in that particular track advance, i.e., slide down toward the front of the shelf, allowing the next-successive unit in line to become the new front-most unit in that track.
Because conventional flat merchandise shelves, e.g., cantilevered or so-called “gondola”-type shelves, allow users to rearrange product on the shelves, such as to find product with later expiration dates, these inclined gravity-fed display shelving systems help ensure that the oldest product is sold first. By making rearrangement of product more difficult, it is found that inventory waste is reduced. The inclined arrangement of the gravity-fed display shelves also allows greater shelf space on a given footprint of valuable floor space for a retailer, which is a particular advantage in relatively costly refrigerated aisles and wall units.
While the gravity-fed display systems referred to above are designed for single door refrigeration and dispenser units, there has been a recent movement to include gravity-fed display systems in refrigeration and dispenser units having double- or “French” doors opening at a middle section of the unit. To effectively include the gravity-fed display systems in such extra-wide, double door units, new extra-wide or double wide display shelves have been designed such that they can be disposed within the same.
Some of the new extra-wide wire-type display shelves have included vertical center supports extending from both a front and a rear portion of the shelf to a bottom portion of a rack of the unit. However, such center supports, while functional, are visible when the double doors of a unit are opened and, thus, are often not aesthetically pleasing. In addition, the front center supports, since off-set from the hinged panels between pairs of the glass doors, may obstruct access to some of the product displayed on the shelf, and thus interfere with the efficient use and benefits of the gravity-fed display systems. As such, it is desirable to provide extra-wide display shelves without such a center support. Without the center support, however, the center area of the extra-wide shelf deflects or bows downwardly after product is placed thereon, due to the weight of the product. The center area's downward deflection interferes with linear advancement of product toward the front of the shelf and, particularly in the case of relatively tall product containers, can result in product containers toppling over.
For conventional-width wire-type display shelves, such as on the order of 41 inches or less, while there may have been some downward deflection in the center area of the shelf due to weight of product, the deflection was not appreciable, and the product containers along the sides of the shelf were not spaced so far from the center of the shelf as to: (1) pose a risk of tipping over due to the minimal deflection; or (2) interfere with the smooth gravity-fed gliding of the product to the front of the unit. However, in the case of extra-wide wire-type display shelves having a width of more than 41 inches, the number and weight of product to be displayed thereon increases, particularly such as where heavy gallon size containers are being displayed (e.g., milk, juice), as does the downward deflection of the center area of the shelf and the distance of product along the sides of the shelf from the center of the shelf. As a result, it is desirable to provide a reliable technique for reinforcement of an extra-wide wire-type display shelf that does not require vertical center supports.